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Arwa Badran – Cutting Her Path in the Rocks

Meet Arwa Badran

We created this section to feature and honor incredible women from all walks of life who deserve gratitude and recognition for their achievements and the role they play in society. For our previous post, we were lucky enough to meet Tamam El-Ghul and introduce her to you! As for our sixth inspiration for this section, meet Arwa Badran.

Please join us as we learn more about Arwa, her journey, her goals and her struggles. And together, let’s get inspired by her story!

Introduction:

This article is a little more personal and close to my heart, as I’ve known Arwa all my life. Having said that I can assure you that I was blown away by the amount of determination my best friend showed in cutting a path for herself, literally in the rocks. Join me for this enlightening tet-a-tet!

Arwa Badran’s interest in archeology started in her late teens as she accompanied her parents on trips around Jordan with the Friends of Archeology society (FOA).

‘After Tawjihi I studied commerce for a year. But it was torture; I didn’t get it and I didn’t like it. I hadn’t really considered my options and I was just going with the flow.’ She made the decision to switch to the faculty of archeology and tourism. ‘Ruins held a certain mystery,’ she Explains, ‘on trips with the FOA, the guides would tell us “this is what was going on and this site held so and so” etc., but none of what you see is at it was before; there are a lot of missing pieces. Like puzzles. You have to use your imagination to envision what these people were up to, and how they lived. 

All of these things drew me to this field. So when I came to the conclusion that studying commerce wasn’t for me, I decided to switch to archeology. It wasn’t an easy decision because I had already done a year and I was worried about losing credit hours. There was also the fear of whether or not I would actually like it!’

CERAMID project/Hashemite University- Arwa Badran collecting earth specimens in Petra 2003

But what about her parents’ reaction?

‘They encouraged me. Their view is that if you do what you love, you will succeed.’ She never looked back after switching and it proved to be the right decision. ‘It turned out to be all about one’s interests; if you like something, you excel at it.’ She graduated with flying colors while keeping a part time job at McDonalds, as well as volunteering at various digs around Jordan. She laughs as she remembers her antics at work. ‘I would take my textbooks with me and study while I work, slipping them under the counter while I fry up a batch of French fries! ‘

I ask her about her first dig.

‘It was with Yarmouk University at Mafrak*.’ She laughs. ‘I remember saying good bye to my parents as if I’m traveling overseas. The dig was actually in Eidoon one of Mafrak’s surrounding villages.’ She continues. ‘It remains one of the best experiences. We slept in a nearby school because it summer vacation, so each five or six took over a classroom and we slept on cots.

It was extremely hot and every morning at five we’d head over to the dig site working till 2:00 pm baking in the sun. We’d return for breakfast at the school to have an egg with cheese and bread then return to the dig. For lunch, we would line up like inmates or the homeless at a soup kitchens.’ Always resourceful and naturally disarming she quickly became friends with the cook so he gave her special treatment and would give her an extra piece of meat. ‘But it was simple basic food fit for the occasion.’

Not all were pleasant memories though; a scorpion crawled up her pants.

‘I didn’t find out till we returned to the camp site. We were in the room chatting when I felt something crawling around in my pants, I jumped up and there it was a small yellow scorpion. I got an allergic reaction all over my body and couldn’t move my fingers as a result. I returned home with no intention of going back. But after a couple of days I realized I missed it too much.’ She explains. ‘There’s a real sense of camaraderie at the dig; the whole team comes together like family. We eat together, we have our tea together.

One time this guy brought a watermelon and we cut it up and ate like we’d never seen watermelon before!’ She fell in love then and there and ended up traveling allover Jordan on digs, driving to each one in her pickup truck. ‘It was never boring: digging four days in Jerash, then driving all the way to Petra and digging five days there. I never refused an opportunity to participate in a dig.’

Intrigued, I ask about the most interesting discovery she made or was a part of.

‘We were excavating in Petra in Kasr Il Bint and we found the entrance to a water canal. The guys at the dig were locals from Wadi Moussa & they said they would go down the canal. But I refused and said I would go down.’ She attached a measuring tape to her belt, very Indiana-Jones-like, with the intention of going down to excavate. ‘You don’t really know what you will find down there, it can be anything. But I was struck with such intense curiosity, whatever there might be, I wanted to go down and see what this canal has in store. I crawled inside on my elbows and kept crawling until I found two huge rocks with an opening in the middle, which opened into another huge canal.’

They had amazingly found a part of the water system in Petra which is very exciting. She explains. ‘The Nabateans were well-known engineers. Their water system was not just to fulfill a need for drinking and agriculture; these canals fed ornamental features such as fountains, pools and gardens.’  The Nabateans were masters of water harvesting. After all, no civilization would flourish without water. And in this case, rain water comes down from Sharah Mountains, with Petra as a catchment area. ‘The government has now built dams to control the flooding which previously would wash out so much. One year it actually swept away a group of tourists. This gives you an idea of the amount of water they passed through Petra.’

See Also: Dalia Naber – Capturing Moments & Spreading Joy

Before we move on she has another story for me.

‘At another dig in Iraq Al Amir, I told all the workers to make sure to put their pants in their socks because I had previously had a scorpion crawl up my pants. I made sure they all did that because we were digging in black soil which is humid making it the perfect place for scorpions to thrive. I didn’t bother doing that though, because I thought, what are the chances?’ So she’s sitting on the bus after the day is done, and patting down her pants she finds this small bulge on one of her pant legs; the scorpion had walked up the fabric of pants.

‘So what to do? I can’t take off my pants with all the workers from the dig riding on the bus!’ She starts hitting it, at which point it actually did sting her, but it didn’t have time to inject all its poison. ‘It eventually fell out of my pant leg in two pieces and it was a proper big one. We started driving like crazy and got to the Bassa medical center in the area but I insisted on going to Amman.’ Of course it turned out they had the antidote in El Bassa and not in Amman! She explains ‘But being a city girl I didn’t know about these things. At the hospital they gave me an antihistamine shot instead.’

She laughs as she remembers her mom cursing digs everywhere when she found out. ‘Since then, when I return from a dig, mom makes me take off my clothes before I go into the house!’

I ask about working with all guys, local guys who come from a rural background, how does that work with a girl from Amman?

‘Not all the guys accept this girl from Amman coming to give them orders- well not exactly orders, but you have to be in the leadership role.’ She pauses, ‘But it’s all a matter of time to build the trust.’ She reminisces, ‘I used to smoke at the time, so we would all exchange cigarettes and they would bring me prized Syrian cigarettes.’ In the end there would be a real sense of camaraderie. ‘The most important thing is respect, and they needed to feel I’m on their side.’ Arwa would challenge herself. So if someone can’t push the wheelbarrow up the ramp to empty the dirt, she would take it up herself. ‘And when they saw I was putting in more effort than them, they would be ashamed and would get to work. And we would always end up being friends.’

So was there a difficult dig that stands out?

‘I think it was Iraq Al Amir, because it took a long time for me to gain the workers’ respect and get them on my side.’ She remembers one incident when they even started playing hooky and doing things just to annoy her. ‘They’d go off somewhere and sit around instead of working. So one time the supervisor came, he would record the names of those present in order to arrange payment of their salaries. Some of the guys were absent, so things started to escalate, but I intervened on their behalf and told him everyone was present. They realized I’m on their side. And after that they started working properly.’ Proudly she continues. ‘All the guys I worked with were generous to a fault, they would put me up in their parents’ houses, they would buy me live chickens, have them slaughtered & barbecued just for me.’ Thanks to Facebook and social media she’s still in contact with many of them.

The idea to pursue a post graduate degree in museums came about while working in Petra.

‘I would always go and visit the museum there. I could see how magnificent the city was and how poor the museum was in comparison; always empty. So I started thinking about museums, and pursuing a degree in museums. This was very uncommon, only one person had pursued such studies before myself. I communicated with universities and headed to New Castle to study for my master’s degree.’ Along with Lester and London, New Castle has the best programs for MA in museum studies.

‘It was difficult for me; I would cry every day for the first four months!’ She explains, ‘To begin with, it was my first time away from home. And I was faced with an educational system completely different from the Jordanian one. And to top it all, no one was there to help and I had to rely on my own efforts.’ Arwa remembers the first article she published. ‘It took me two weeks to write and I had several people read it for me. And I only got a pass for my efforts; I barely made it!’ But after the first four month she “got it” and understood what was needed and what she had to do.

‘I had fun there,’ she admits, ‘I made lots of friends, New Castle is a relatively big city. And I studied really hard. Sometimes I would stay up for two days without sleep in my room like a hermit, because you just have to finish and no one will help you but yourself.’ And Arwa did it. She elaborates. ‘I prepared a very big thesis- “Communication of archeological Museums with their Communities in Jordan”. They were very happy with it at the jury.’  

Arwa Badran at the World Archaeological Congress 2013

After she graduated and returned to Jordan in 2001, she didn’t know what to do with herself.

‘So I resumed participating in digs!’ During a dig in Ghor Safi in the Jordan Valley she gets a call from the Dean of Queen Rania faculty for tourism and Heritage at the Hashmyeh University asking where she is. ‘He had previously interviewed me, it was an informal interview; we chatted and drank tea. It was considered a done deal, but then I never heard from them. So he asks on the phone where I am, and I told him I’m at the dig-I was literally in the square! So he said “yalla**”

And that was it. I started working at the institute, which is one of the first to offer museum studies instead of archeology. I started constructing courses and teaching Museum studies and design.’ She reflects on that time, ‘I was very happy there. Moreover, I used all the knowledge I’d acquired in New Castle on my students. We did a lot of practical work where I’d take them on field trips. I believe the program was very successful, because we didn’t have too many students, and most of them were genuinely interested in learning.’ She talks fondly about the students of 2000-2002. ‘They were outstanding people, and a lot of them are actually working in this field and are doing exceptional work, they’re really amazing.’

See Also: Dina Saoudi – A Real Example of Inspiring Women

About museums and misconceptions, a subject close to Arwa’s heart.

‘A museum is perceived as a collection of rooms that have cabinets holding pieces of art or history. In reality it’s an institution, it’s not a dead building. We have to consider the interpretation surrounding the piece, which starts from the moment you take the piece out of storage. There’s the environment you’re going to surround the piece with, the label and what it says and whatever audio visual techniques you use for the presentation of the piece.’ She continues, ‘we have theatre at museums now, reenactments, story-telling and object handling, for children, families, and for people with disabilities- dementia and Alzheimer, even for prisoners.  Of course I’m talking about very high standards, which may not be present in every museum. But museums are much more than rooms and objects.’

After working as a professor for a few years, Arwa decided to go and pursue her PhD.

‘Because I discovered it’s not enough to have a masters. You’re either over qualified or under qualified.’ I ask the obvious question, was it at all odd to take this path? ‘A little bit.’ She answers. Then she elaborates. ‘I’ve always been a bit of a tomboy. But my parents were behind me all the way. I see no limits for anything, you work hard, and you get somewhere. Looking at my life, I’ve been involved in many things, whatever I get into I give all, from football to music, you name it. I can’t sit still, and it’s all led to where I am now.

Every opportunity I’ve been offered, I’ve worked hard to get it the previous year in a way or another; it’s all opened doors. And this is how I live my life, I believe that you work hard and seriously. You work, you get somewhere. I love simplicity and honesty. I hate showing off and pretentiousness. Maybe that’s the appeal of some of the things I worked at.’

Arwa speaks fondly of working with children at the UNESCO.

‘We prepared a teaching package about Jerash, a book for the teacher to use with the kids. It was a huge project and it was successful. We would accompany school children and sing along with them on busses. The project was in cooperation with FOA. It was amazing to interact with kids and teachers coming from faraway places like Petra and Jerash as well as Amman. And this dedication that you see within the teachers motivates you to work harder and improve services. You see these members of the Jordanian society, simple dedicated hardworking people.’

For her PhD, Arwa wanted to return to New Castle because she’d loved it so much.

‘But when I went back I was in shock. New Castle was the same, but I wasn’t; the people who’d been with me were no longer there. It was very difficult. I even went to my dad after four months and told him I wanted to quit, and he told me it’s too late you started and you can’t quit.’ She talks about the challenges she faced. ‘It was one of the most difficult experiences in my life. It was a lonely process, it was very hard. It’s like a huge project with no end in sight.’ She explains, ‘You spend years researching the same subject and you have to be your own boss.” Her thesis was Archeological museums and schools: teaching primary-aged children about the past in Jordan.

To top it all, in the middle of her PhD work, Arwa stopped being able to type.

‘I would get tingling electricity-like feelings in my hands; it was inflammation of the tendons, so I had to get a dictation software and dictate my words to the computer for three years.’ She explains that she had to learn a new way of thinking, ‘because you usually think and write as you go, now I had to think and speak. It took me triple the time. But that’s it, you’re on a mission, you have to complete it.’ She returned to Jordan after concluding her work because she was doing her PhD on a scholarship from Hashmyah University. She was working full time teaching while finishing her PhD.

About the moment she finished?

‘It was amazing,’ she beams, ‘the moment I held the dissertation in my hand in 2010, such happiness and joy with this accomplishment. You’re only happy when you accomplish a task, any task, the difference is the time and effort you put into it.’ Arwa taught on at Hashmyeh University for four years. ‘I was happy but I felt a shift in the type of students I had. Numbers grew, in the lecture hall where previously I had 40-50 students, now they’re 100. And only a few of them were genuinely interested. The rest just happened to be there. You started to see fights break out at universities.’ She speaks sadly, ‘students would come to the office to try to convince me to give them higher marks, or weasel their way out of suspension due to absenteeism instead of trying to understand the material.’ Of course there were some exceptions.

By then Arwa had gotten married to Keith and he accompanied her to Jordan.

‘We always knew we would go live in Jordan after I got my PhD, but we always knew it would be a test and not a permanent arrangement. He was happy but I think he felt that in his field of work it’s better for him to be in England. Life for him here was nice but difficult. As well as struggling to drive to work, he was struggling at work due to cultural differences.’ He was a lecturer at Perta University and subsequently he worked on the university website. ‘It was interesting and nice but different than his country and culture. He enjoyed it,’ she laughs, ‘he enjoyed the food a lot!’

Arwa stayed in Amman with her son Adam and they decided she would join Keith as soon as he found a job.

‘I was thinking it’ll take him a year to get a job. He calls me two weeks later; he has two job offers! I was shocked, I wasn’t ready to go back.’ She stayed on for a year then joined him. ‘It was 29 May 2013 and this remains a difficult day for me because I was leaving everyone behind. And I was going away forever. Even when I would complain about transportation to Zarqa and the university and beggars on the street, this was my home, my family, my country, I couldn’t believe I was leaving forever.

When I went back, I would start thinking and I would start crying and then immediately I would stop myself, because what’s the point? I had married an Englishman so I will live in England and there’s no turning back. This was something my father taught me. You have to be accountable for your actions.’

Even when she got married, her father approached her the day before the katb ktab ceremony and asked if she had second thoughts.

‘I don’t think he said it to set any doubts, but because he wanted me to be accountable for my actions. And he had enough foresight to know what I will have to go through.’ She explains her state of mind. ‘I was in love at the time, and had no thoughts for children and where we’re going to settle, so it all came later.’ She elaborates, ‘we do live a sheltered life, there’s always a safety net.

In time I learnt to accept that I’m there in another country. Because the time of hoping we’d return is gone. So now I focus on my life, my husband my children.’  She then had her second son Danny, and realized that was home. ‘This is the society I live in and it’s actually a very good society. Some of my friends would come over if I’m sick and take Adam to school and bring me food. I still yearn for my homeland and the struggle within me remains. But the world has become so small, I visit my family and we Skype all the time.’

Arwa Badran with her boys in 2016

She also started building a professional life for herself.

‘I’m still in the lecturing field, I teach at the University of Durham. I’m also working toward becoming a professional trainer in the Middle East- it is something we lack. I hope to become a trainer in the field of museums, heritage education, and museum education. Very few people in the Arab world have this specialization and are bilingual.’ She’s confident of having the skill and knowledge to do it; to be a trainer of trainers. ‘You need someone who has the knowledge and the ability to communicate and the experience to do the training.’

Research of course is ongoing.

‘I’m currently working on two book projects. I do most of my work from my office at home. This is why I’m in control of my life and my time. I have full responsibility of the house and the children as my husband works full time, which means I have to work my hours around everybody else.”

We talk about life and work after motherhood. ‘I have a lot in common with other moms whose children are the same age as my second son.’ She explains, ‘after you have a child here in England, usually you go back to work part time. This means, you miss out on meetings, you’re expected to do the whole job in half of the time. And when you’re assessed you’re at the bottom of the list, because you didn’t have the chance to develop yourself, because you missed the training courses. And you’re getting paid half the salary. This is the challenge of motherhood. It’s the same for mothers everywhere.’

I ask if she would change anything if you had the chance, like the PhD right after the Master’s maybe.

‘I wouldn’t change anything and you can’t pursue graduate studies without a break; you have to be mature enough.’ She explains, ‘If you do your PhD right after the Masters you’ll be doing it for the wrong reasons. It will be misery and it won’t be a successful PhD. You have to have the reason for doing it, it’s not just a high degree. This degree means you’re a researcher; you can criticize, think critically, and write creatively, so many skills, it’s not just a PhD.’

Finally, having chosen an unusual career and a tough path I ask for words of wisdom and advice especially to young women. She answers without hesitation.

‘To not be afraid. When opportunity knocks, it’s true you have to think a lot but I personally always throw myself into it. Go ahead and do it, don’t think too much of the hurdles or challenges. When opportunities come my way, I consult my parents on how to manage and how to arrange everything. My father always says, “everything will sort itself out and cross that bridge when you to it. Go for it and when the time comes you will manage.” Always know that your success is in your hand. You can do it, you can be successful. Take the chance, go for the opportunity, and take initiative. A successful person is always on the go, adventurous, contributor. Be courageous, nothing is impossible whatever you want to do and wherever you want to do it.   

*Mafrak is a city 70km to the north of Amman

** Yalla is Arabic slang for let’s go.

Thank you Arwa Badran for giving us the pleasure of featuring you here.

Finally, please don’t hesitate to nominate the amazing women who inspire you so we can honor them together!

The post Arwa Badran – Cutting Her Path in the Rocks appeared first on The Global Now.



This post first appeared on The Global Now, please read the originial post: here

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